Late Night Tales: Bonobo

Late Night Tales and Bonobo were practically made for each other, it just took them a while to realise it. Stepping up to the compiler’s spotlight for the 33rd edition is Simon Green – aka Bonobo – a musician, producer and DJ perfectly suited to soundtrack a night of winding down to some parallel beats. With six albums under his belt (‘The North Borders’ released early 2013), Green has been on a roll since the breakthrough 2010’s ‘Black Sands’ which has sold over 160,000 copies. His music has contributed to Citroën car sales and Olay creams, as well as soothing the confusion on Lost. Wrapped in delicately programmed drums, Green’s music is at once sombre and comforting. If what emerges at the end is Bonobo’s music, then this is the fuel that keeps the engine running: soul, jazz, classical, pop, funk, alt rock. Pianos and brass are abundantly present. Our keys are warmed and stroked by the classical, Bill Evans, and the new, with Matthew Bourne’s beautifully melancholic ‘Juliet’ and Dustin O’Halloran’s ‘An Ending A Beginning’. The brass section is handled by Menehan Street Band’s jazzy ‘The Traitor’ and Hypnotic Brass Band’s ‘Flipside’. Also included is YouTube sensation Peter & Kerry’s ‘One Thing’, R&S signing Airhead, jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby and Dorando’s timeless soul ‘Didn’t I’. Not only that, there’s also Bonobo’s special LNT cover, a brilliant rendition of Donovan’s ‘Get Thy Bearings’. As the light dims, the haunting sounds of Lapalux or even Shlomo slice through the hazy night air, before giving way to the ethereal splendour of Eddi Front’s ‘Gigantic’ or even Nina Simone’s anthem to an imagined rural idyll in ‘Baltimore’. Wander to the riverside. It could be the Great Ouse, as the willows weep over the water; it could even be Brooklyn, overlooking the Lower East Side, as the sun slides down the sides of the skyscrapers. Carry a notebook for inspiration. Perhaps even a hipflask with a shot of something hot. Sit, reflect, and let those beautiful pianos brush the surface of the water. Sometimes, you think, life is good. You can’t play a symphony alone, it takes an orchestra: Simon Green is your conductor.

“The way I approached this mix was very different to how I would normally. I didn't think of it so much as a DJ mix, but more of a selection. I've been familiar with the series for a long time and was conscious of that, but I really wanted to put together a curated selection. The criteria for picking the tunes were really music that I've been listening to away from the dance floor over the years. So there is a greater variety of stuff in here, from neo-classical pieces to more abstract electronic pieces, through to spiritual jazz. It's more of a reflection of what's informed my music.”